Creative Writing Program's Nneoma Ike-Njoku described as 'incredibly exciting new talent'signs novel with Scribner

Scribner has signed Nneoma Ike-Njoku’s The Water House, a “thrilling twist” on the gothic novel. Upon acquiring the UK and Commonwealth rights, publishing director at Scribner Sophie Missing shared: 

“The Water House reminded me of a mid-century novel – short, stripped back, stylish – but with a voice and atmosphere that feels entirely fresh and original. I love how it nods to classics like Rebecca, Jane Eyre and The Color Purple, while confounding expectations with wit and panache. Celia might initially bring to mind one of Jean Rhys’s heroines struggling in the city, but she is eminently capable. Nneoma Ike-Njoku is an incredibly exciting new talent and I’m so thrilled that she has chosen Scribner as her UK home.”

Congratulations, Nneoma!

Nneoma Ike-Njoku is a Nigerian writer. She is the recipient of a Betty Trask Award, a MacDowell Fellowship, and the DGA First Novel Prize for her novel-in-progress, THE WATER HOUSE, an excerpt of which was also longlisted for the Grindstone International Novel Prize. She is currently an English & Creative Writing Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia, where she received the Jane Appleby Entrance Award. She holds an MFA in fiction from Cornell University, where she won the James McConkey Award, and has received grants and fellowships from the Miles Morland Foundation, Kimbilio, and the Millay Arts Foundation, among others. In 2022, she was commissioned to write an original short story for the Newman Wetlands Center, which will be produced and audio recorded on the app for hiking tours through the site. Her short fiction has appeared in Winter Tangerine, where it won the 2016 Prose Prize, and elsewhere.